Ritz-Carlton PH sale breaks Fort Lauderdale price psf record

A penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale was just sold for $4.4 million, setting a new price-per-square-foot record for condos in the city, The Real Deal has learned.

The price equates to $1,556 per square foot, which is the priciest in Fort Lauderdale’s history. It was almost the highest price per square foot for a condo in all Broward County, but the 2007 sale of a unit in Hollywood’s Diplomat Oceanfront Residences beat it by a whopping $2.

The 2,827-square-foot Ritz-Carlton residence has three bedrooms, five bathrooms and sits on the top floor of the building.

Listing agent Dan Teixeira of Douglas Elliman told TRD that the unit was a second home for its owner, an unnamed seller from Manhattan.

The unit’s backyard-style balcony

The seller completely remodeled the unit before putting it on the market. Its most unique feature, Teixeira said, is the 1,600-square-foot balcony: It’s covered in faux grass, giving off the backyard feel of a traditional home — with the advantage of ocean views.

The buyer is a homeowner from Weston, and was described by Teixeira as an empty nester looking to downsize.

Teixeira said he’s seeing a trend where homeowners are exchanging their houses for condos, especially in amenity-rich buildings like the Ritz-Carlton. It is known for offering residents all the amenities of hotel guests, such as room service and house keeping, while having a separate lobby and elevators for its condo owners.

He also said roughly 25 percent of his business comes from Weston, which has a large supply of empty nesters who want to downsize once their children move out.